HS2 has been a controversial project since plans emerged in 2009, marked by delays, environmental concerns, and spiralling costs.
Here is a timeline of key events:
January 2009
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The Labour government establishes HS2 Ltd to examine the case for a new high-speed rail line.
December 2010
A consultation on a route for HS2 from London to Birmingham with a Y-shaped section to Manchester and Leeds is published by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government.
January 2012
Transport secretary Justine Greening announces the government has decided to go ahead with the project, which is expected to cost £32.7 billion (in 2011 prices) – plus £8.2 billion for the trains – and open in 2026.
This is despite concerns over its cost and the environmental impact of construction.
June 2013
The government raises the expected cost of HS2 excluding rolling stock to £42.6 billion at 2013 prices.
With another £7.5 billion set aside for trains, the total cost could exceed £50 billion.
November 2015
HS2 is given a new budget of £55.7 billion – including rolling stock – in 2015 prices to take account of inflation.
June 2016
The National Audit Office warns HS2 is under financial strain and could be delayed by a year.
July 2017
HS2 Ltd accepts it was a “serious error” to make £1.76 million of unauthorised redundancy payments to staff.
December 2018
Sir Terry Morgan resigns as chairman of HS2 Ltd amid criticism over his role as chairman of Crossrail, which is delayed and over budget.
January 2020
A government-commissioned report led by former HS2 Ltd chairman Douglas Oakervee is widely leaked.
It finds HS2 could cost up to £106 billion, but concludes “on balance” that the project should continue.
February 2020
Prime minister Boris Johnson gives HS2 the go-ahead despite “exploded” costs.
The so-called funding envelope is reset.
Phase 1 between London and Birmingham is set at £44.6 billion (at 2019 prices), with the estimated cost for the full network revised to a range of £72 billion-£98 billion.
Services are expected to begin between 2029 and 2033.
September 2020
Boris Johnson marks the project’s formal beginning of construction at an event in Solihull, West Midlands.
January 2021
Environmental activists dig a network of tunnels in London’s Euston Square Gardens, resulting in a complex operation to remove them.
November 2021
HS2’s eastern leg between Leeds and the East Midlands is scrapped by the government.
March 2023
Work at Euston is paused by the government as costs have ballooned to £4.8 billion compared with an initial budget of £2.6 billion.
This means HS2 services will run to and from Old Oak Common, west London, until at least the 2040s.
October 2023
Prime minister Rishi Sunak announces at the Conservative Party conference that HS2 will not go beyond the West Midlands, to save money.
January 2024
HS2 Ltd executive chairman Sir Jon Thompson tells MPs the estimated cost of building HS2 between London and Birmingham has increased to as much as £66.6 billion in current prices.
November 2024
Sir Jon tells a rail industry conference that HS2 Ltd is spending more than £100 million building a “shed” to protect bats in Buckinghamshire despite there being “no evidence that high-speed trains interfere” with the animals, which are legally protected in the UK.
June 2025
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander says there is “no route” to meet the target date of HS2 opening by 2033.
May 2026
Ms Alexander announces that HS2 could cost more than £100 billion (in 2025 prices) and may not open until 2039.
